• This article reports the results of an investigation of the professional activities of graduates of National Institute of Mental Health-supported residency programs, spanning the five-year period 1968 to 1972. The results explode the mythical notion that the majority of such trainees enter straightway into the private practice careers. In fact, the majority devote at least half-time to some type of public-service psychiatry, with no less than 43% in full-time public service.